William "Wil" Barkins is the owner and Innkeeper of the Barking Fool Tavern and Inn. (Character Sheet at the bottom of the page.)
The Barking Fool is located in the Foreign Quarter of the capital city of Kessid in Irroquin. Wil inherited the Barking Fool Tavern and Inn from his father Desmond, after his death in 504. Little has changed at the Tavern with the "new" ownership.
The Day's Happenings at the Barking Fool Tavern
(newest posts at the top)
May 17, 510
Leetha grimaced and spat the food back into her bowl. "Gods, Wil!" She looked at him with small tears of pain beginning to well in her eyes. "What are you trying to make?"
"Well," Wil scratched the back of his head, "I've never been the best in the kitchen by any one's mark." I'll simply have to get better."
"Aye, WIl, or you'll start scaring away the patrons." Leetha was wiping her tongue with a towel.
"Well then, Leetha, run out to the Hall of Travelers and find a posting for a cook looking for work? Call him I've got to keep the drinks flowing. And if I get them into enough sauce, they may not notice how bad the food really is."
Leetha arched an eyebrow and looked at Wil for a long moment.
"I thought not." said Wil sullenly.
Leetha hung her apron behind the bar.
"Just bring a cook here and I'll work out the pay and menu. Haste, now. We only have a few hours until the dinner rush." Then to himself, Wil muttered, "Ah, Rose, would that you were still here to keep me from causing all this strife... and I hope your mother fares well."
May 15, 510
Wil wandered back from the street, having loaded Rose and her bags into a coach. "Now then, Who is going to man the kitchen while she's gone?"
The tavern staff was a study in gaze avoidance, bustling out the doors and into the other rooms. Melody was carrying clean bed linens to the rooms. She was trying so hard to avoid making eye contact with Wil that she tripped and fell, spillng the fresh bed sheets across the common room floor.
Wil watched all this with a raised eybrow and a slowly smouldering cigar. "Obviously it shant be you Melody. After all, you'll be busy running back to the washer women, now won't you?"
Wil roilled up his sleeves and headed to the kitchen. "I'm sure there's a clean pot around here somewhere."
May 14th, 510
"Wil!" Rose's shout snapped Wil from the short after lunch nap he had achieved sitting in his favorite comfortable chair in the corner of the bar floor.
"Yes, Rose? What is it?" Wil wandered into the kitchen. Rose was holding a letter in her hand. The Hall of Travelers Courier was waling out the door.
"It's a letter from my sister." Rose had a worried look on her face. "My mother is ill."
"Then you should go to her. I will have to stay here to take care of the Fool. I'll make the arrangements."
May 10th, 510
"We are sorry Master Wil," said Corporal Arthur of the Kessid City Watch. "Unless we bring in one of our wizards, I'm not sure what we can do at this point."
Wil frowned and chewed on the stub of cigar in his mouth. He stared a while longer at the spot where the altar to Corbae once rested.
Corporal Isaac placed a hand on Wil's shoulder. "Knowing a little about Corbae, you could look at it that the Altar has been borrowed... and maybe some day something else will be returned in its place?" Isaac ended his statement with a question.
"Thank you gentlemen. I'll see if I can find a local Priest of Corbae here in the Foreign Quarter. Mayhaps they can help me replace my small Altar."
"Good luck, Wil." Arthur looked apologetic and the two Guardsmen sidled up to the bar and ordered ales.
Wil sighed again. "Dolena! Bring me a broom!"
The tall bar wench wearing the head shawl appeared and handed Wil a broom. Wil swept up the broken pieces on the floor. "Rose, I need to find a Corbae priest. Do you know where I can find one?"
Wil wandered into the kitchen to break the news to his wife.
May 7th, 510
Samuel Walker, Board Tender for the Hall of Travelers, gently shook Wil's shoulder.
"Hmrph?" Wil cracked open one eye. He had been fast asleep just before the evening crowd would start arriving. Still sitting in the seat by the Hall of Traveler's Message Board, WIl asked, "Ah, Sam. How goes the rounds?" Wil rubbed his eyes, trying to rouse himself.
"I'll need my seat WIl. I'm here for the boards. You look like you haven't slept." Sam smirked seeing the normally noisterous Wil in a state of exhaustion.
Wil pushed himself out of the chair waving Sam toward it. "Ah, the unorganized thieves and newcomers have been causing trouble these last few nights. All the troubles with the Watch these days... and the recent growth of the foreign quarter... all these new Halgudari and Lindorans and Rynith... Damn Lamplighters shirking their duites. You know there are thugs roaming the streets and breaking property."
"So I've heard," said Sam.
"And I can't afford any extra men, so I end up awake all through the night watching over my Tavern."
"Troubling times, my friend."
May 3rd, 510
The City Watchmen walked out of the Fool, slamming the gate behind them. Wil stared after them for a moment, then turned back to the bar room and sighed.
"Well!" Wil shouted at the staff, "let's clean this mess up!"
Will started uprighting tables and chairs. Rose, Dolena and the other bar maids began picking up the tankards and plates.
"Well Rambert, what do you make of all that? Not since I was a lad have I seen the local guardsmen come in here angry at everything... even before they've had a single drink." Wil picked up a chair that fell to pieces in his hands. He shrugged and threw the pieces in the far corner.
"The Guards weren't even arresting anyone! They came in angry enough to fight with Old Kaler! He does nothing but sit in the back getting drunk! That man is so little trouble he has fallen asleep and we've locked him in after closing. What is going on?"
May 1st, 510
The Barking Fool was nearly empty. The tables and seats did not look as though many customers had used them. The place held its dull gleam from the early cleaning.
Wil leaned upon the counter, chin resting on his fist, his stub of a cigar nearly chewed through. Contrary to a normal day, Wil was consternated. "Bloody Watchmen!" fumed WIl.
The wenches risked a quick glance his way, then bustled back to perfunctory cleaning or hurried back inside.
"Bloody Thieves..."
Will abruptly rose from the bar, threw his cigar into the tavern, slapped down his cleaning rag and walked back inside the Inn.
"BOY!" Wil shouted for the stable hand. "Get to the streets and find out what happened by the Traveler's Bridge last night. If I don't know the story in two hours, I'll be even more bent... GO! Don't just stand there looking at me like a gibbering urchin! Your mother would tan your backside if she saw you being this disobedient!"
Watching the stable boy run out the door, Wil mellowed a bit and allowed a small smirk to cross his lips.
He wandered back to the tavern floor wandering among the tables and filling the few mugs being held. "Tonight begins my new offer, lads! Anyone wearing a token or tabard of our revered lands, or has proof that taxes proper were paid, shall receive discounted drinks!"
A small cheer roused through the few patrons.
Rambert ambled over from where he had been speaking with a few members of the Lamplighters' Guild; their raucous laughter echoed through the courtyard.
The bard lit his pipe as he bellied up to the bar. "Well, Master Wil, but you seem in an uncommon generous mood, and that on the heels of an uncommon bedeviled one. What manner of ill plague be gnawing at your innards?"
After a short pause and a look to Rambert, Wil responded. "'Tis all business my friend. The whole city is nearing a breaking point. And I don't want any of the breaking here at my tavern. Think on this... With all the troubles and taxes we have here in Kessid, what's a man to do? When men are overly happy they drink. And when they be overly bedevilied they drink as well. All this trouble with the Halgudari and the Lindorans and everyone who shares no love for them or others... well it's on the rise. So we have a great number of taxed and saddened men. And those men need drinks."
Wil looks up to one of the Lamplighters, staggering up to the bar and slaps him on the shoulder. "I'll wager you want another pint of the Irroquin Bitter now, don't you Clefton?" This one shall be half cost to you, for your service to the great city of Kessid."
Clefton slurred some appreciative response involving the lamps near the Fool, then tripped back tothe table with his friends.
"And so you see Rambert, it is all about business. This young lad Clefton will tell his comrades of the deal I have offered and more patron will come here to drown their sorrows and celebrate their virtues. And I will be the richer for it. And in turn, so shall you."
"However," continued Wil, "the whole affair with the Watch recently does not sit well with me. Moreso than the troubles with the newcomers. The Watch have been angrier and more forceful these past few days. I worry about that. Bad for business."
April 22nd, 510
The night crowd had cleared out from the Barking Fool early on this Thursday night. The remaining few tavern wenches had cleared up the tables and floors. Rose was scrubbing the plates, bowls and mugs in the kitchen.
Wil sat in the cushioned chair tucked in the corner of the main floor, chewing on the stub of a roughly rolled cigar. He lifted his tankard and took a long drag, watching the bar maids tidy up the last few tables.
"The gods damned Directorate and their taxes. Always another tax, something new to tax... prices on the rise... I'm barely staffed as it is, and now..." Another long pull from the tankard. "Guild fees are higher now too. Suffer one, suffer all." Something catches WIl's eye and he pushes himself from the chair.
Wil's cigar left a trail of sweet smoke lingering from the chair, crossing the floor and ending where he now stood at a post holding up the roof. Wil extracted his cigar while he stared at the post. After a few moments, he drained his tankard and turned to face the kitchen.
"Rose! Do I have an Adze? Perhaps some wood chisels?"
"Check the back room Wil. There's a box of sharp wood tools under the broken high stool with the red leather seat."
Wil took one last look at the outline of a wolf's head carved in the post, then he walked inside the Inn. On his way through the door he grumbled, "Can't have my tavern becoming politcal now. Not good for business."
May 27th, 509
"The damned sailoirs and sea merchants! They do whatever they choose. Upstanding citizens like myself are counting on those shipments. It's a good damned thing I have small pantry and a large wine cellar." Wil grumbles to himslef as he walks away, inside the Barking Fool.
There are less servants working than the last few days. They continue to bustle and work. And they look a bit concerned as well.
May 23rd, 509
"Bloody wizards fighting with magik in the streets outside! Right down the street! Damned Dominians sailing in and out of the harbor and none of them drinking! Haven't seen a Halgudari in here in weeks! They were right good customers. Half of the gods cursed Directorate trying to make new laws in Kessid! Raising taxes on spirits and tobacco! Dakkorans and Gesni brawling everywhere!"
Wil throws his arms up in disgust then lets out a big sigh. He drops down heavily in his favorite seat by the dying rose bush.
It's the end of the night and the creaky white streetside gate has been locked. No more drunken wanderers falling over themselves to the bar. The place is not nearly as disheveled as one would expect a generally popular tavern to be on a Saturday night in the highly traveled city of Kessid.
Wil looks directly at one of his tight-corseted servers. In a level voice he asks, "Well, Dylena? What is there to do?"
She is obviously caught off guard, interrupted in the midst of clearing tables. Nevertheless, the staff here are used to Wil's frequent outbursts and semi-solo conversations. "Sorry Wil, couldn't say." She lugs a large tray of mugs and dishes into the kitchen.
Wil slouches in his chair, mug in hand and thoughfully chewing on a slowly burning cigar. "The Prince should hold another Tournament. That's what I say. Every time he so much as mentions the word, the streets fill up with adventurers and conjuruers and jugglers and thieves. All good for business. Thieves. That reminds me..."
Wil pulls a scrap of paper and a stub of pencil from his apron pocket and scratches a quick note. Will looks at the note he just wrote. He shakes his head and throws it into the fire.
"I think Sam is due here tomorrow. Perhaps Monday. Board is getting out of date."
May 17th, 509
Wil wanders around the Barking Fool Tavern tidying things up as the servers both clean up the breakfast crowd mess and prepare for the lunch crowd mess.
"It's a good thing we rarely have customers for breakfast on the weekends. You lot are terrible at it." Wil crosses his arms and stands in the middle of the room. "The most serious problem with breakfast... no alcohol."
One of the bar wenches gives him a look that says, 'Are you serious?'
Will shoots her back a serious look. "First of all, beer, wine and hard spirits are where we make most of our money here. Because people like to drink. Secondly, breakfast is almost a loss every morning because the cost is nearly as much as the profit. And finally, I think all you ladies do your jobs better drunk!"
The servants all go back to their work, realizing that Wil is done with his half-serious "morning meeting"
Wil walks around the Tavern and Inn adjusting things here and there, talking to himself. "Damned busy world this is... King Volek murdered. I wonder what happened there. Best to order some Gesni spirits, they are bound to come in and mourn him. Should stock up on Palrim wine as well. Not sure if they will mourn or celebrate. Wine is good for both."
Wil stops in his tracks. "But what of the Dakkorans? Is there a good Dakkoran drink? Never heard of such. Don't much like their ways. Don't get many around here. Best to keep them out. Avoid any trouble with my other regulars."
"Ah. Damn Dominians. Now with all this harbor business, I'd best stock up on more of the cheap ale. wouldn't waste anything good on them. They never pay well."
May 14th, 509
"Boy!" Wil shouts through the tavern. "Where in all the Hells have you got to?!"
The boy servant rushes into the main room and bows before Wil. "Yes, sir?"
"Get up. I'll have none of that in my tavern. You're no slave here. I know your mum. And you work here for a wage, however small that may be."
"Yes, sir, Master Wil."
Will shakes his head. "I need you to nip out to 'the Totem' in Low Town. Do you know the place?"
"Yes, sir Master Wil, I know it."
"Any of your family from Dakkor, lad?"
The boy shakes his head nervously. "No sir. Most of my family come from Gesnor. And some from Palrim, sir."
"Well then," says Wil, "you get yourself there. Hop to it boy. Come back when you know what all the fuss is about. They've only gone and posted with the bloody Hall of Travelers for some reason. And I'm sticking my nose in their business. Don't come back 'til you've found out."
May 11th, 509
The morning preparations are well underway at the Barking Fool Tavern. It's more like morning repairs. The weekend is past and it's time to clean up the messes left.
Wil stands, arms crossed over the dirty apron, at the tavern's courtyard gate looking out into the not-as-bustling Kessid streets. "Now where is my morning delivery? Can't very well make lunches for customers without my beef or birds showing up, can I?"
Wil turns and goes back into the tavern kitchen. Rose is cleaning the tankards and plates from last night's guests. The servant boy is gathering the guest room sheets. Wil shouts at the servant boy, "Lad! Don't go draging the linens across the ground. And don't be stepping on them either! Ye Gods, boy! I know your taking them to be washed but let's at least have them GET to the washer women in one piece!" Wil smacks the boy on the back of his head. The boy runs to the next guest room pulling more sheets off the beds.
Rose sees Wil enter. "The beer casks are outside. They were delivered when you were in the back yelling at the other servers."
"Well, that's one shining thing so far today! And if you're not careful with that tongue I'll be yelling at you too, Rose."
May 8th, 509
Wil wanders around his soggy floored tavern. He seems to be speaking to the Bar Maids and servants, but a longer look would tell anyone that he was merely talking to himself.
" 'tis a damned good thing we are closer to the fields and the main road than we are to the waterfront. I know that my father, rest his soul... when he built this place often cried on and on that we would have better patrons- better coin- if only we were just closer to the docks and bridges..."
Wil grabs a mop out of the hands of the passing stable boy and begins to chase the murky water around the floor with it.
"... every year... at least once... mucking the floors... damned spring rains."
Wil stacks a few chairs onto tables. He pulls a rag from his apron and wipes them down.
"... have to buy more sandbags now. Close to the end of the wet season. You never know, though. There's always ONE more storm hiding under the Gods' aprons... May have to send a couple wenches on their way so I can afford all the repairs."
Wil stops cleaning and looks around the tavern's main area.
"But who?"
From the room far behind the bar, a woman's voice shouts, "Wil! I think the red wine casks are ruined from the storm."
Wil shakes his head, sighs, and shouts back, "I'll be there straight away."
Player Name: Dave Miner Jr Race: Human Homeland: Irroquin Profession: Inkeeper/Bartender, Proprietor of the Barking Fool Tavern & Inn 3 Adjectives to Describe: Distracted, Connected, Amiable
Class: Other
Max x BP, x RP, x PP, x CP, +x AP, x Skills
Body Points: 4 Armor Points: 0 Total Hit Points: 4 Recovery Points: 2/hr
Magik Category: N/A
Special Skills: (1XP = 2SP)
None so far
Special Items:
None
Magikal Item Count:
0
Special Notes:
Wil has several connections and dealings with various guilds throughout Irroquin and Xaria, both upstanding and low-skulking guilds and organizations. Wil is a businessman prizing information as a high form or currency.
(Character Sheet at the bottom of the page.)
The Barking Fool is located in the Foreign Quarter of the capital city of Kessid in Irroquin. Wil inherited the Barking Fool Tavern and Inn from his father Desmond, after his death in 504. Little has changed at the Tavern with the "new" ownership.
The Day's Happenings at the Barking Fool Tavern
(newest posts at the top)May 17, 510
Leetha grimaced and spat the food back into her bowl. "Gods, Wil!" She looked at him with small tears of pain beginning to well in her eyes. "What are you trying to make?"
"Well," Wil scratched the back of his head, "I've never been the best in the kitchen by any one's mark." I'll simply have to get better."
"Aye, WIl, or you'll start scaring away the patrons." Leetha was wiping her tongue with a towel.
"Well then, Leetha, run out to the Hall of Travelers and find a posting for a cook looking for work? Call him I've got to keep the drinks flowing. And if I get them into enough sauce, they may not notice how bad the food really is."
Leetha arched an eyebrow and looked at Wil for a long moment.
"I thought not." said Wil sullenly.
Leetha hung her apron behind the bar.
"Just bring a cook here and I'll work out the pay and menu. Haste, now. We only have a few hours until the dinner rush." Then to himself, Wil muttered, "Ah, Rose, would that you were still here to keep me from causing all this strife... and I hope your mother fares well."
May 15, 510
Wil wandered back from the street, having loaded Rose and her bags into a coach. "Now then, Who is going to man the kitchen while she's gone?"
The tavern staff was a study in gaze avoidance, bustling out the doors and into the other rooms. Melody was carrying clean bed linens to the rooms. She was trying so hard to avoid making eye contact with Wil that she tripped and fell, spillng the fresh bed sheets across the common room floor.
Wil watched all this with a raised eybrow and a slowly smouldering cigar. "Obviously it shant be you Melody. After all, you'll be busy running back to the washer women, now won't you?"
Wil roilled up his sleeves and headed to the kitchen. "I'm sure there's a clean pot around here somewhere."
May 14th, 510
"Wil!" Rose's shout snapped Wil from the short after lunch nap he had achieved sitting in his favorite comfortable chair in the corner of the bar floor.
"Yes, Rose? What is it?" Wil wandered into the kitchen. Rose was holding a letter in her hand. The Hall of Travelers Courier was waling out the door.
"It's a letter from my sister." Rose had a worried look on her face. "My mother is ill."
"Then you should go to her. I will have to stay here to take care of the Fool. I'll make the arrangements."
May 10th, 510
"We are sorry Master Wil," said Corporal Arthur of the Kessid City Watch. "Unless we bring in one of our wizards, I'm not sure what we can do at this point."
Wil frowned and chewed on the stub of cigar in his mouth. He stared a while longer at the spot where the altar to Corbae once rested.
Corporal Isaac placed a hand on Wil's shoulder. "Knowing a little about Corbae, you could look at it that the Altar has been borrowed... and maybe some day something else will be returned in its place?" Isaac ended his statement with a question.
"Thank you gentlemen. I'll see if I can find a local Priest of Corbae here in the Foreign Quarter. Mayhaps they can help me replace my small Altar."
"Good luck, Wil." Arthur looked apologetic and the two Guardsmen sidled up to the bar and ordered ales.
Wil sighed again. "Dolena! Bring me a broom!"
The tall bar wench wearing the head shawl appeared and handed Wil a broom. Wil swept up the broken pieces on the floor. "Rose, I need to find a Corbae priest. Do you know where I can find one?"
Wil wandered into the kitchen to break the news to his wife.
May 7th, 510
Samuel Walker, Board Tender for the Hall of Travelers, gently shook Wil's shoulder.
"Hmrph?" Wil cracked open one eye. He had been fast asleep just before the evening crowd would start arriving. Still sitting in the seat by the Hall of Traveler's Message Board, WIl asked, "Ah, Sam. How goes the rounds?" Wil rubbed his eyes, trying to rouse himself.
"I'll need my seat WIl. I'm here for the boards. You look like you haven't slept." Sam smirked seeing the normally noisterous Wil in a state of exhaustion.
Wil pushed himself out of the chair waving Sam toward it. "Ah, the unorganized thieves and newcomers have been causing trouble these last few nights. All the troubles with the Watch these days... and the recent growth of the foreign quarter... all these new Halgudari and Lindorans and Rynith... Damn Lamplighters shirking their duites. You know there are thugs roaming the streets and breaking property."
"So I've heard," said Sam.
"And I can't afford any extra men, so I end up awake all through the night watching over my Tavern."
"Troubling times, my friend."
May 3rd, 510
The City Watchmen walked out of the Fool, slamming the gate behind them. Wil stared after them for a moment, then turned back to the bar room and sighed.
"Well!" Wil shouted at the staff, "let's clean this mess up!"
Will started uprighting tables and chairs. Rose, Dolena and the other bar maids began picking up the tankards and plates.
"Well Rambert, what do you make of all that? Not since I was a lad have I seen the local guardsmen come in here angry at everything... even before they've had a single drink." Wil picked up a chair that fell to pieces in his hands. He shrugged and threw the pieces in the far corner.
"The Guards weren't even arresting anyone! They came in angry enough to fight with Old Kaler! He does nothing but sit in the back getting drunk! That man is so little trouble he has fallen asleep and we've locked him in after closing. What is going on?"
May 1st, 510
The Barking Fool was nearly empty. The tables and seats did not look as though many customers had used them. The place held its dull gleam from the early cleaning.
Wil leaned upon the counter, chin resting on his fist, his stub of a cigar nearly chewed through. Contrary to a normal day, Wil was consternated. "Bloody Watchmen!" fumed WIl.
The wenches risked a quick glance his way, then bustled back to perfunctory cleaning or hurried back inside.
"Bloody Thieves..."
Will abruptly rose from the bar, threw his cigar into the tavern, slapped down his cleaning rag and walked back inside the Inn.
"BOY!" Wil shouted for the stable hand. "Get to the streets and find out what happened by the Traveler's Bridge last night. If I don't know the story in two hours, I'll be even more bent... GO! Don't just stand there looking at me like a gibbering urchin! Your mother would tan your backside if she saw you being this disobedient!"
Watching the stable boy run out the door, Wil mellowed a bit and allowed a small smirk to cross his lips.
He wandered back to the tavern floor wandering among the tables and filling the few mugs being held. "Tonight begins my new offer, lads! Anyone wearing a token or tabard of our revered lands, or has proof that taxes proper were paid, shall receive discounted drinks!"
A small cheer roused through the few patrons.
Rambert ambled over from where he had been speaking with a few members of the Lamplighters' Guild; their raucous laughter echoed through the courtyard.
The bard lit his pipe as he bellied up to the bar. "Well, Master Wil, but you seem in an uncommon generous mood, and that on the heels of an uncommon bedeviled one. What manner of ill plague be gnawing at your innards?"
After a short pause and a look to Rambert, Wil responded. "'Tis all business my friend. The whole city is nearing a breaking point. And I don't want any of the breaking here at my tavern. Think on this... With all the troubles and taxes we have here in Kessid, what's a man to do? When men are overly happy they drink. And when they be overly bedevilied they drink as well. All this trouble with the Halgudari and the Lindorans and everyone who shares no love for them or others... well it's on the rise. So we have a great number of taxed and saddened men. And those men need drinks."
Wil looks up to one of the Lamplighters, staggering up to the bar and slaps him on the shoulder. "I'll wager you want another pint of the Irroquin Bitter now, don't you Clefton?" This one shall be half cost to you, for your service to the great city of Kessid."
Clefton slurred some appreciative response involving the lamps near the Fool, then tripped back tothe table with his friends.
"And so you see Rambert, it is all about business. This young lad Clefton will tell his comrades of the deal I have offered and more patron will come here to drown their sorrows and celebrate their virtues. And I will be the richer for it. And in turn, so shall you."
"However," continued Wil, "the whole affair with the Watch recently does not sit well with me. Moreso than the troubles with the newcomers. The Watch have been angrier and more forceful these past few days. I worry about that. Bad for business."
April 22nd, 510
The night crowd had cleared out from the Barking Fool early on this Thursday night. The remaining few tavern wenches had cleared up the tables and floors. Rose was scrubbing the plates, bowls and mugs in the kitchen.
Wil sat in the cushioned chair tucked in the corner of the main floor, chewing on the stub of a roughly rolled cigar. He lifted his tankard and took a long drag, watching the bar maids tidy up the last few tables.
"The gods damned Directorate and their taxes. Always another tax, something new to tax... prices on the rise... I'm barely staffed as it is, and now..." Another long pull from the tankard. "Guild fees are higher now too. Suffer one, suffer all." Something catches WIl's eye and he pushes himself from the chair.
Wil's cigar left a trail of sweet smoke lingering from the chair, crossing the floor and ending where he now stood at a post holding up the roof. Wil extracted his cigar while he stared at the post. After a few moments, he drained his tankard and turned to face the kitchen.
"Rose! Do I have an Adze? Perhaps some wood chisels?"
"Check the back room Wil. There's a box of sharp wood tools under the broken high stool with the red leather seat."
Wil took one last look at the outline of a wolf's head carved in the post, then he walked inside the Inn. On his way through the door he grumbled, "Can't have my tavern becoming politcal now. Not good for business."
May 27th, 509
"The damned sailoirs and sea merchants! They do whatever they choose. Upstanding citizens like myself are counting on those shipments. It's a good damned thing I have small pantry and a large wine cellar." Wil grumbles to himslef as he walks away, inside the Barking Fool.
There are less servants working than the last few days. They continue to bustle and work. And they look a bit concerned as well.
May 23rd, 509
"Bloody wizards fighting with magik in the streets outside! Right down the street! Damned Dominians sailing in and out of the harbor and none of them drinking! Haven't seen a Halgudari in here in weeks! They were right good customers. Half of the gods cursed Directorate trying to make new laws in Kessid! Raising taxes on spirits and tobacco! Dakkorans and Gesni brawling everywhere!"
Wil throws his arms up in disgust then lets out a big sigh. He drops down heavily in his favorite seat by the dying rose bush.
It's the end of the night and the creaky white streetside gate has been locked. No more drunken wanderers falling over themselves to the bar. The place is not nearly as disheveled as one would expect a generally popular tavern to be on a Saturday night in the highly traveled city of Kessid.
Wil looks directly at one of his tight-corseted servers. In a level voice he asks, "Well, Dylena? What is there to do?"
She is obviously caught off guard, interrupted in the midst of clearing tables. Nevertheless, the staff here are used to Wil's frequent outbursts and semi-solo conversations. "Sorry Wil, couldn't say." She lugs a large tray of mugs and dishes into the kitchen.
Wil slouches in his chair, mug in hand and thoughfully chewing on a slowly burning cigar. "The Prince should hold another Tournament. That's what I say. Every time he so much as mentions the word, the streets fill up with adventurers and conjuruers and jugglers and thieves. All good for business. Thieves. That reminds me..."
Wil pulls a scrap of paper and a stub of pencil from his apron pocket and scratches a quick note. Will looks at the note he just wrote. He shakes his head and throws it into the fire.
"I think Sam is due here tomorrow. Perhaps Monday. Board is getting out of date."
May 17th, 509
Wil wanders around the Barking Fool Tavern tidying things up as the servers both clean up the breakfast crowd mess and prepare for the lunch crowd mess.
"It's a good thing we rarely have customers for breakfast on the weekends. You lot are terrible at it." Wil crosses his arms and stands in the middle of the room. "The most serious problem with breakfast... no alcohol."
One of the bar wenches gives him a look that says, 'Are you serious?'
Will shoots her back a serious look. "First of all, beer, wine and hard spirits are where we make most of our money here. Because people like to drink. Secondly, breakfast is almost a loss every morning because the cost is nearly as much as the profit. And finally, I think all you ladies do your jobs better drunk!"
The servants all go back to their work, realizing that Wil is done with his half-serious "morning meeting"
Wil walks around the Tavern and Inn adjusting things here and there, talking to himself. "Damned busy world this is... King Volek murdered. I wonder what happened there. Best to order some Gesni spirits, they are bound to come in and mourn him. Should stock up on Palrim wine as well. Not sure if they will mourn or celebrate. Wine is good for both."
Wil stops in his tracks. "But what of the Dakkorans? Is there a good Dakkoran drink? Never heard of such. Don't much like their ways. Don't get many around here. Best to keep them out. Avoid any trouble with my other regulars."
"Ah. Damn Dominians. Now with all this harbor business, I'd best stock up on more of the cheap ale. wouldn't waste anything good on them. They never pay well."
May 14th, 509
"Boy!" Wil shouts through the tavern. "Where in all the Hells have you got to?!"
The boy servant rushes into the main room and bows before Wil. "Yes, sir?"
"Get up. I'll have none of that in my tavern. You're no slave here. I know your mum. And you work here for a wage, however small that may be."
"Yes, sir, Master Wil."
Will shakes his head. "I need you to nip out to 'the Totem' in Low Town. Do you know the place?"
"Yes, sir Master Wil, I know it."
"Any of your family from Dakkor, lad?"
The boy shakes his head nervously. "No sir. Most of my family come from Gesnor. And some from Palrim, sir."
"Well then," says Wil, "you get yourself there. Hop to it boy. Come back when you know what all the fuss is about. They've only gone and posted with the bloody Hall of Travelers for some reason. And I'm sticking my nose in their business. Don't come back 'til you've found out."
May 11th, 509
The morning preparations are well underway at the Barking Fool Tavern. It's more like morning repairs. The weekend is past and it's time to clean up the messes left.
Wil stands, arms crossed over the dirty apron, at the tavern's courtyard gate looking out into the not-as-bustling Kessid streets. "Now where is my morning delivery? Can't very well make lunches for customers without my beef or birds showing up, can I?"
Wil turns and goes back into the tavern kitchen. Rose is cleaning the tankards and plates from last night's guests. The servant boy is gathering the guest room sheets. Wil shouts at the servant boy, "Lad! Don't go draging the linens across the ground. And don't be stepping on them either! Ye Gods, boy! I know your taking them to be washed but let's at least have them GET to the washer women in one piece!" Wil smacks the boy on the back of his head. The boy runs to the next guest room pulling more sheets off the beds.
Rose sees Wil enter. "The beer casks are outside. They were delivered when you were in the back yelling at the other servers."
"Well, that's one shining thing so far today! And if you're not careful with that tongue I'll be yelling at you too, Rose."
May 8th, 509
Wil wanders around his soggy floored tavern. He seems to be speaking to the Bar Maids and servants, but a longer look would tell anyone that he was merely talking to himself.
" 'tis a damned good thing we are closer to the fields and the main road than we are to the waterfront. I know that my father, rest his soul... when he built this place often cried on and on that we would have better patrons- better coin- if only we were just closer to the docks and bridges..."
Wil grabs a mop out of the hands of the passing stable boy and begins to chase the murky water around the floor with it.
"... every year... at least once... mucking the floors... damned spring rains."
Wil stacks a few chairs onto tables. He pulls a rag from his apron and wipes them down.
"... have to buy more sandbags now. Close to the end of the wet season. You never know, though. There's always ONE more storm hiding under the Gods' aprons... May have to send a couple wenches on their way so I can afford all the repairs."
Wil stops cleaning and looks around the tavern's main area.
"But who?"
From the room far behind the bar, a woman's voice shouts, "Wil! I think the red wine casks are ruined from the storm."
Wil shakes his head, sighs, and shouts back, "I'll be there straight away."
Player Name: Dave Miner Jr
Race: Human
Homeland: Irroquin
Profession: Inkeeper/Bartender, Proprietor of the Barking Fool Tavern & Inn
3 Adjectives to Describe: Distracted, Connected, Amiable
Class: Other
Max x BP, x RP, x PP, x CP, +x AP, x Skills
Body Points: 4
Armor Points: 0
Total Hit Points: 4
Recovery Points: 2/hr
Magik Category: N/A
Special Skills: (1XP = 2SP)
None so far
Special Items:
None
Magikal Item Count:
0
Special Notes:
Wil has several connections and dealings with various guilds throughout Irroquin and Xaria, both upstanding and low-skulking guilds and organizations. Wil is a businessman prizing information as a high form or currency.
Relative Wealth:
Comforatbly-Struggling
Allies:
The staff of the Barking Fool
The Hall of Travelers
The Kessid City Watch
The Kessid Thieves Guild
The Kessid Lamplighters Guild
The Farnsworth Family (Reginald Farnsworth III)
Foes:
Non-paying patrons
Goals/Desires:
To maintain his Tavern and provide for his staff.
Weaknesses:
Distractable
Campaigns attended by this Character /Date:
"The Barking Fool" - June 13, 509
"The Barking Fool II: Torches and Pitchforks" - May 22, 510
Experience Points Spent on this Character:
0
Do you, the Player, have any medical problems that the GMs must know about? Please explain:
None.